Window frame for curtains and like articles



Dec. 25 192s. 11,478,447

H.F.MARANVHLE WINDOW FRAME FOR CURTAINS AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed O t. 11, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z O f Z6. .2!

Dec. 25, 1923. 1,478,44?

v H. F. MARANVILLE WINDOW FRAME FOR CURIAlNS AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed 00L 11, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 25, 1923.

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HARVEY FJIvEAEANVILLE, OF AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR- OF ONE-THIRD TO CHRISTIAN GIRL, OFCLEVELAND, OHIO, AND ONE-THIRD TO ERNEST W. FARR, 0F LAKEWOOD,

onro.

WINDOW FRAIi'IE FOR CURTAINS AND LIKE ARTICLES.

Application filed October 11, 1919. Serial No. 329,903.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY F. MARAN- VILLE, a citizen of-the United States, residing at Akron, inthe county of Summit and citate ofOhio, have invented a certain new and useful- Improvement in Window Frames for Curtains and Like Articles, of which the followin is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to windows for curtains, awnings, vehicle covers, and like articles, As is well known, the'windows for the curtains of automobile tops are generally made of celluloid or similar transparent or translucent panes and these panes are secured in place by stitching the outer edges to and between the portion of the curtain surrounding the window aperture and a cloth binding strip. It is a characteristic of the material generally used for these panes that it is very easily broken, particularly when cold, and that the apertures through which the stitches extend form lines along which the material is particularly apt to break. The panes are, therefore, liable to break, not only in their body portions. when subjected to any strain, but also along the lines established by the stitching apertures. 7 When broken, the operation of replacing a pane is a tedious and expensive one.

It is the general object of this invention to provide a frame for panes such as are used with articles of the class described that will eficiently retain the panes in place without the necessity for perforation; that can be very quickly and conveniently applied to the curtains or similar articlesin which the'windows are provided; that will permit the convenient and easy removal of a broken pane and the equally convenient and easy insertion of a new pane. A. further object of i the invention is to provide a frame construction which is capable of practically universal application and which is extremely well adapted for variations in size and shape of the windows and the varying incidents of. use. Still further and more generally stated, the object of the invention may be defined as consisting of the combinations of elements embodied in the claims hereto annexed and illustrated in the drawings forming part hereof, wherein Fig. 1 represents an elevation of a window having a frame constructed in accordance with my invention, the view being taken on the exterior of a top or curtain; Fig. 2 represents a detail in perspective of an exterior section of the frame; Fig. 3 a similar view of one of the corner pieces of the frame; Fig. 4: a similar view of a corner of a frame showing the manner in which the outer frame pieces are applied to a corner piece or elbow such as shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 a View similar to Fig. 2 of one of the inner sections of the frame; Figs. 6, 7 and 8 sectional details corresponding respectively to the lines 66, 7-7, and 88 of Fig. 1; Fig. 9 an elevation of a frame of irregular shape having special intermediate connections and special corner pieces for varying angular relations between adjacent frame sections; Fig. 10 a detail in elevation of one of the special corner pieces shown in Fig. 9; Fig. 11 a detail in elevation of one of the intermediate connections shown in Fig. 9; and Figs. 12, 13, 14: and 15 are views, similar to Fig. 7, of modified forms and constructions of frame.

Describing by reference characters the various parts illustrated herein, 1 denotes a portion of the exterior surface of a carriage top, as, for instance, the curtain of an auto-.

mobile. part will be referred to hereinafter as a cur- For convenience of description this tain. This curtain is provided with an opening to which a transparent pane 2 is applied, which pane may be of any suitable material, as celluloid. This pane is secured in place by means of a frame which will now be described :--3 indicates a sheet metal strip, which may be of any desired length and which has, near each lateral edge thereof,

an externally projecting rib or corrugation 4, which may be conveniently formed by means of a roll, the outwardly projecting corrugation providing a corresponding 1nternally facing groove. This strip is provided with a plurahty of fastening devices,

which are conveniently formed by striking .1

from the metal a plurality of triangular tongues 5, the length of each tongue being preferably about equal to the width of the stock o-f-the strip between the corrugations,

'and the strips 3 arethus assembled, they with the base of each tongue immediately adj acent to what will be the outer corrugationof the strip when assembled into a frame. These tongues project at right angles from the strip 3, from the side opposite the externally projecting corrugations and adjacent to the outer complementary groove 45.

It will be understood that the strips 3 may be made varying lengths to suit varying dimensions of windows. The corners of the strips are connected by means of corner pieces or elbows, indicated generally at 6, each corner stripbeing preferably-of sheet metal haying outwardly projecting corrugations 7 complementary to the corrugations 41- and'adapted to receive the latter-within the grooves formed on the opposite or interior. faceof the corner piece. At each end, the corner piece is provlded with a pair of flaps8, which are adapted to bend inwardly toward each other, in the manner shown in F ig. 4 to'form with the adjacent body port-ion of the corner piece a pocket or guide for the reception of the end of a strip 3; When the corner pieces may be conveniently secured in operative relation to each other by spotting or str1king the exterior surface of the corner piece with a punch or similar instrument, as indicated at 9, thus bending the metal of these parts and forming the strips 3 and corner pieces 6 into a unitary frame construction. v

Cooperating with the strips 3'are sheet metal strips 10, which are, substantially identical with the former strips and are intended to. be applied to the interior surface of the curtain 1 and pane 2. Each strip 10 is provided with outwardly projecting corrugations 11, of suiiiciently less width than the corrugations t-to be pressed into the complementary recesses of thelatter and clamp thecurtain 1 and pane 2 firmlyin place. Each strip 10 will have a plurality of slots 12 adjacent to the outer corrugation ll, in position to receive the tongues --5, and; will be of such length that their ends will lie'within and nearly abut against the flaps 8.

In applying the frame constructed from the foregoing parts to a curtain, the frame comprising the cor'ner pieces and exterior strips 3 willbeapplied to thefopening and the tongues}; will be "pressed through the curtain,asshown in Fig. 7. The pane will then be applied'to the frame, the dimensions 'of the pane being such that the outer edges thereof will lie within the space bounded 'by the tongues' 5. The interior strips 10 wri then be appliedto the interior-surface ofthe curtain and the pane and will be pressed firmly' into clamping relation to these parts and the outer frame strips, 7 with '7 the tongues .of the outer strips passing through the slots 12. The tongues will then be bent down to clinch theparts together.

in the manner shown in Fig.7.

By the construction shown and described, it will be apparent that a: cheap andrigid frame is provided. for the pane and one which will clamp the pane 'securelyin place and without liability to break thesame, the amount of bending or distorting of the pane by the corrugations 11 and 4: being exaggeratedin Figs-6g to 8, such exaggeration being employed for the purpose of illustrating more clearly the cooperation between the parts of the frame. Inthe event of it becomingnecessary to replace the pane 2, the

strips 10 may be removed 1 by merely straightening the tonguesb. The broken pane can then be removed, a new one. 1n-

serted, and the inner: and-outer strips can be clamped together as before; or, if desired, new inner strips mayibejsubstituted for the old; or an entirenew frame may be lapping portions being pivotally connected,

as by means of a rivet 16. The outer ends of the members 15 are roundedoii on an arcconcentric with the rivet. 16 and each member is provided with corrugations 17' complementary to andadapted to receive therewith inf the corrugations 4 of the strips Eachmember 15 is "alsoprovided with flaps 18, shown in-Qdotted line in Fig/10,

said flaps being substantially identical .in

the flaps 8 shown in construction with Fig.4.

In Fig. 11 there is shown an intermediate connection of T-sh'ape'. which can be': conveniently employed where a window iscomposed of a plurality of ..:-panes, connections.

of this type being p'rovidedfor the purpose of supporting the ends of interior and. ex-

teriorcross strips Each of these T-shapedconnections comprises a pair of sheet metal branches 19 and 20 extending atright angles to each other and each having corrugations I 21 and 22 complementary tothe corrugations 4:, there being flaps 23 and at each end of the connection. (shown inldotted lines wherein a pair of them are shown as applied in =Fig. 11)' andsiinilan to the flaps8shown I in Fig. i. The use of these T-shaped connections willwbeaapparent from Fig. '9,

ternally arranged metallic to the frame intermediate .of the top and bottom members or bars In using these connections, a pair of opposed exterior frame strips may be applied to a pair of connections by slipping the connections onto these frame strips. The intermediate strips 25 may then be applied tothe intermediate branches of the connections'and the flaps 2 1 be bent around the ends of the intermediate strips. The parts may then be secured together by spotting in the manner shown in Figs. 1, 1 and 10.

In Fig. 12, there is shown a modification of the frame, wherein the exterior strip 3 is identical in construction with those heretofore considered, but the interior strip 26 has the corrugations 27 projecting in a reverse direction from the corrugations 1, the dif ference between the two forms being largely one of appearance of the interior surface of the frame. r

In Fig. 13, the outer strip or member is shown as having practically its entire exterior surface convex,-as shown at 28, the inner strip or member 29 being formed so as to fit within the convex outer member, the strips or members being shown as secured together by means of short bolts 30 and nuts 31.

In Fig. 1 1, there is shown another modification of the frame which differs from that shown in Fig. 13 mainly in having the edge portions of the interior and exterior strips corrugated, the corrugations 32 and 33 projecting toward the interior of the frame or in the opposite direction from the body portions 34 and 35. The strips are shown as connected by means of rivets 36.

In Fig. 15 there is shown a further modification of the invention which resembles that shown in F i s. 1 to 8 inclusive, differing therefrom in that the interior and exterior strips 37 and 38 are devoid of corrugations and that the exterior strip has applied thereto a convex cover 89 having its ends clinched around the edges of the strip 38, as shown at 10. The cover strip 39 conceals the apertures formed in the exterior strip by striking the tongues 5 therefrom.

Various other modifications of my invention may be designed, and by my failure to illustrate such modifications herein I do not exclude the same from the scope of the claims hereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A frame for the purpose described comprising a plurality of externally arranged metallic strips each having a corrugation adjacent to each edge thereof and each having a plurality of tongues struck from the portion thereof intermediate of the corrugations, with their bases adjacent to one of said corrugations, and a series of instrips complementary and corresponding to the ex- 52. A. device for" the purpose set forth comprising a plurality of external sheet metal strips, corner'piec'es for the ad acent ends ef-said strips, each'corner piece being provided with pockets adapted'to receive the ends of the cooperating strips, and a plurality of internal sheet metal strips corresponding to the external strips and of such length as not to overlap the corner pieces, and means for securing the internal and external strips together.

3. A device for the purpose set forth comprising a plurality of external sheet metal strips each having a corrugation adjacent to each edge thereof, corner pieces for connecting the ends of adjacent strips and each having corrugations adapted to receive the corrugations of the strips and flanges forming pockets for the ends of said strips, a series of internal metallic strips having corrugations complementary to those on the external strips and adapted to be secured to the outer strips between the pockets of the corner pieces, and means for securing said strips together.

1. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of metallic strips, and a corner piece adapted to support adjacent ends of said strips, said corner piece comprising a pair of pivotally connected members each having a pocket or guide for the adjacent end of a strip.

5. In a device of the character set forth,

the combination of a pair of metallic strips,

and a corner piece adapted to support adjacent ends of said strips, said corner piece comprising a pair of pivotally connected members.

6. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a plurality of metallic strips, substantially T-shaped connections applied to opposed strips, a strip extending between said connections, and a cooperating set of strips arranged complementary to the former strips.

7. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a plurality of metal strips each having a longitudinally extending corrugation, and corner pieces connecting said strips, a plurality of oppositely arranged strips corresponding to the former strips and having complementary corrugations, each corner piece having adjacent to each end thereof a pair of flanges bent toward each other and forming, with the adjacent body portion, a pocket for the adjacent end of a strip.

8. The combination, with a curtain having a window aperture therein, of a sheet metal frame applied to said aperture and comprising a plurality of external sheetmetal strips, corner pieces connecting said strips, 

